[PRP] Your Hands Have Been in the Grave (Theo/Temp)

[The Semblance of Unity]

Temperance had never sucked down and iced latte more quickly, but she needed to caffeine. There was a doorway she'd been keeping an eye on - it glowed, a bit, too brightly to be normal. They'd go through there. Alternate Ashdown things mixed with things from here... it seemed to work. She pulled out her phone to text Theo, abruptly remembering that wasn't a thing for him. Instead, she tucked her skirt around her thighs and tried to be patient.

She liked to think she was sensibly dressed. Her doc martens's were sturdy, although floral, and her skirt had pockets. Temperance pulled out her phone again and then set it down on the table in front of her.

smerdle

ATTUNE

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item creation mechanic
Players must roll 1d10 in each post where they attempt to create their attuned item. The d10 determines the success or failure of their attempt. Four successes are required to create the item; each post must be filled out.

roll results
1-- A success! Your item has taken a little of your desired trait into itself.
2-- A failure. You have blown up one of your less expensive reagents and caused yourself minor damage.
3-- A failure. Your item has proven resistant to one of your reagents; you will need more power or more reagent to make it work.
4-- A success! Your item has taken a little more of your desired trait into itself.
5-- A failure. Your item has cracked, and must be repaired.
6-- A failure. You have blown up one of your most expensive reagents and done yourself moderate damage. The reagent must be replaced.
7-- A success! Your item has taken a little more of your desired trait into itself.
8-- A failure. You pushed too hard, and the item rejected your attempt to imbue it with its traits.
9-- A success! Your item has taken a little more of your desired trait into itself.
10-- A failure. You didn't push hard enough, and have given yourself a headache.

 

[Smerdle]

Theo liked coffee just fine, but he couldn't very well bring a skunk into a Starbucks, so he tapped on the glass outside instead, hoping to get Temperance's attention. He had changed into jeans and a Def Leppard t-shirt, but had kept the fancy boots on as an experiment. Who would win: his magic or the dirt of the otherworld? Toto was tucked against Theo's chest, propped across his forearm, which kind of made him look like he was growing a plumy tail out of his armpit.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

It took a minute or two, but Temperance finally looked up and nearly jumped. Theodore was outside, not in, and she gathered up her things, neatly sidestepping three rushing students to get outside. She assumed they were students, at least, even though the summer semester had not yet begun. They moved like stressed students, in a pack, 'caffeine' the only thought on their minds.

"Theo! Sorry if you were waiting long. We can move other to the alternative place over there." She pointed to the doorway to some posh little supermarket. Then she looked at Theodore, really looked at him. "What's that." Temperance blinked at the skunk.

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

He stopped himself from replying with a snarky 'you mean who is that, thank you very much,' and instead held the skunk away from his body for a second's worth of introduction.

"Toto, Temperance. Temperance, Toto. He likes to dig."

Theo squinted at the indicated doorway. "You can see how to get in?" It just looked like a supermarket to him.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"H-hello, Toto." Theodore Penny was apparently the kind of man who brought a pet on a mission. A pet skunk. After a moment, she shrugged and began walking towards the market. "Yes, they look kind of... saturated. It's hard to explain."

She stepped through and the air instantly felt lighter, better. Temperance rolled her shoulders, sighing. "Now we- wait, are you a warg?" It finally dawned on her.

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Theo trailed after her, taking a deep breath on the other side that he really didn't want to enjoy, but kind of did anyway. All those months spent fighting this place, and now he was about to go digging around over here on purpose. He set Toto on the ground once he was sure they were all the way through, smoothing his hand from the animal's ears to his rump in a brief show of affection.

"I think that word is stupid, but yes, I am." The skunk ambled ahead, nose to the ground.

"Do we want any old dirt, or are we looking for something specific? I admittedly don't know a lot about how this place is laid out, so if you want me to just shut up and look pretty, I can do that too."

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Yes, it sounds kind of silly," she agreed. "I was thinking we could visit the graveyard - since it's considered a sort of sacred ground? Like, how in lore and things demons or witches couldn't step foot there. Does that make sense?" She pointed off down a side street.

"It's just down there. I was thinking we could... bury it." Temperance began to walk briskly.

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

He looked off in the direction she'd pointed.

"The graveyard." Theo had only met a handful of the creatures who lived here, and not a one of them seemed the type to keep up with such a formal way of dealing with the dead. "Sounds good."

He headed off in that direction, giving Toto silent instructions to follow.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Since," she began conversationally. "-this Ashdown is like a mirror, or we're like a mirror, however you'd like to spin it... Do you think that since the places, like this graveyard, mirror over, that the bodies mirror over, too?" Temperance pushed on the gate and it swung open with a terrible shriek. She winced.

Then, she took a deep breath. "So, let's find a suitable space and try to, um, channel some of the energy of this place into it? We can always use multiple locations, too."

smerdle

want to take first roll?

 

[Smerdle]

Theo froze at the creak of the gate, his heart invading his throat. If this place was filled with clonebodies, they had surely just awakened them all. Toto, seemingly unaffected by his human's fright, hurried forward happily, sniffing at the occasional gravestone. Mostly, he appeared enamored by the dirt. He sank his claws into it every few steps, stopping to bounce his front legs onto a couple of spots seemingly at random.

"I hope not?" Theo said once his voice had unwobbled. "Not for any other reason than I think it would be weird." He took possession of the bracelet for a moment, looking to where his skunk was currently landscaping the area under a nearby tree. Theo crouched in front of the newly made hole, arranged the bracelet inside, and pushed some dirt on top of it. Certain that he was making an idiot of himself, he focused on the dirt and the stones beneath as he concentrated.

"How do we know if it worked?"

The Semblance of Unity

success 1

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Yeah, I guess... if there were mirrored bodies, there would be mirrors of us living people on both sides, too." An empty graveyard, stones commemorating those who weren't there - it was a little sad. Temperance was going to donate her body to science upon death. Being stuck down in the dirt seemed... useless. She watched as Theodore buried the bracelet, idly scanning the headstones.

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.

Wasn't that even even more fitting than normal? She knelt on the ground next to Theo. "I'm not sure - we probably have to believe." Temperance cupped her hands over it and thought of the purifying qualities of grave soil, of sanctity, or protection. Then, tentatively, she brushed some of the dirt off of the bracelet.

"O-oh." Small shoots of green were growing on the stones, twining through the metal. "Let's keep going."

2/4 successes

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"Cool," he breathed, momentary feelings of mystery and purpose and magic overpowering his default state of Unimpressed. Theo pushed the dirt back over the bracelet and tried again, but he could tell the difference almost immediately. He had felt something before. Now the ground was silent.

"I think this hole's out of fizz." He carefully unearthed the bracelet again, brushing it off and looking for changes. "Yeah, nothing. We should move."

The Semblance of Unity

fail whale

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Temperance watched Theo's hand intently, frowning when he pulled back. The dirt was... dead. Her lips twitched. She didn't want to use an actual grave, for worry that someone how some vestige of desire form the person (not) interred there would leak into their magics. Temperance scooped up the bracelet, carefully trying not to disturb the bits of plants growing in it.

"But... where?" Then she turned. The gate - the crossroads, the apex of keeping things safe. Temperance walked over and, just where the two halves of the gate closed, dug a soft hole. Then, she dropped the bracelet in.

3/4 successes

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

He narrowed his eyes at the bracelet, trying to somehow weave protection around its stones as he covered it up again. To his surprise, Toto joined in the burial, pushing at a little of the dirt with his nose. Theo chuckled, composure broken, then focused doubly hard to make up for it, not quite understanding what he was doing but certain that he was doing something. When he uncovered it to see how it was cooking, the vines had increased and a number of small, dark flower buds clung to a few of them.

"That's good, I guess?" He held it out to Temperance, trying to gauge her reaction.

The Semblance of Unity

complete!

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Temperance hid her smile behind her hand as she watched Toto help. Then, she reached out to pet his head gently. "Good skunk." She imagined they both smelled of earth or skunky funk, but surprisingly she hadn't noticed anything. Even from Toto.

Glancing down at the bracelet, she reached out to touch one of the flower buds. "Yeah, I think... if we do anymore, they might overtake the stones." The vines and flowers looked surprisingly hardy. Maybe that was a good sign. "We'll need to take it to the court." She sighed, setting the greenery be-decked bracelet back it its box.

"Sooner rather than later. When is good for you? I can arrange things."

smerdle